About us
Our passion for Valais blacknose
The first Valais Blacknose lambs were born in New Zealand in 2017, and these were from embryos imported from the United Kingdom.
In 2019 the New Zealand Valais Blacknose Sheep Society (NZVBSS) was formed.
Today, there are more than 1,500 pure Valais Blacknose sheep registered in New Zealand and over 220 registered flocks within the NZVBSS.
Our breeders come from all demographics – lifestyle block owners to commercial sheep studs. Although it is an interesting statistic to call out that, amongst the registered breeders, the majority are strongly women.
Whilst there is a dedicated society of breeders aiming at continuously improving the quality of the New Zealand bloodlines, there are going to be those sheep that do not make the cut. As with all breeds, animals with things such as poor conformation, mouth and teeth issues, poor milkers and those that fail to meet the breed standard should be culled. Similarly there is a strong focus on continuing to improve our kiwi genetics and there are some dedicated breeders who regularly import embryos and semen from the UK to ensure we have fresh genetics available.